Next Manager?

[Killiecanary]

No - Gary Holt didn't do as well with Falkirk - in fact nowhere near. Which is why he isn't in the frame for a job like this. I can't deny that I will be interested to see if he stays, along with MP.

I repeat - what Alex Neil has achieved with Hamilton in th past 18 months is pretty close to unprecedented - I read some where this morning (can't remember where) that Neil achieved the best first half of a season in the Scottish premier ever achieved outside the mould firm...

And that not with hearts or hibs or Dundee but with a tiny club who have hardly ever been in the top flight.

Give the guy a chance and some time and this might just be fun chaps!

 

[Canaryboy]

Did Gary Holt achieve good success? He didn't win promotion and being 3rd in the Scottish Championship with a small club is hardly the same as being 3rd in the SPL and beating Celtic on your way. 

For the first point, Neil's Hamilton actually beat Holt's Falkirk in the play-off final, so fine margins! 

On the second point, you said the day before yesterday that I couldn't have consider Adams to have under-performed because he was only being judged on half a season and may have met his target. So the same applies to Hamilton being 3rd? Is only half a season? 

I'd have Neil over Holt anyway, but it would be fair to point out that 7 months ago Neil and Holt would have been held in the same esteem having performed to a similar standard with similar sized clubs in the same league. Six months later Neil will be Holt's boss. That would be a little like Paul Lambert becoming the assistant to Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool in the summer of 2012! 

Gary Holt won't mind if he gets to manage his beloved Kilmarnock though, he'll get another job in Scotland. We can hardly be blamed for him aiming too low anyway, and I'm not really sure why he wouldn't have wanted to be in a league with Hibs, Hearts and Rangers this season. Unless that's the point, he knew he wouldn't have been able to win promotion this season at Falkirk. 

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

Can people please stop saying Neil Hamilton!

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

No - Gary Holt didn't do as well with Falkirk - in fact nowhere near. Which is why he isn't in the frame for a job like this. I can't deny that I will be interested to see if he stays, along with MP.

I repeat - what Alex Neil has achieved with Hamilton in th past 18 months is pretty close to unprecedented - I read some where this morning (can't remember where) that Neil achieved the best first half of a season in the Scottish premier ever achieved outside the mould firm...

And that not with hearts or hibs or Dundee but with a tiny club who have hardly ever been in the top flight.

Give the guy a chance and some time and this might just be fun chaps!

Yes I read that too. Im excited, but will weight of our expectations mean he wont get a fair crack. He's been compared to Lambert, not least by myself, but perhaps thats the worst thing we could do.

Im genuinely excited, he sounds like he's exactly what we need. I so want to believe he is an appointment of Lambert-esque proportions!

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

How likely is Phelan to stay? Rumour is he wanted the job, so not getting it has got to hurt. Obvioulsy he is a former captain so plenty of club ties. Can understand if Neil wants to bring in his own staff, but surely he wouldnt toss away a coach of Phelan's experience? Will be interesting to see if Holt stays, I hope he does, but if, as has been said, he came for Adams, he could well be off, especially if there is a potential job at Kilmarnock for him

 

[Monty13]

For the first point, Neil's Hamilton actually beat Holt's Falkirk in the play-off final, so fine margins! 

On the second point, you said the day before yesterday that I couldn't have consider Adams to have under-performed because he was only being judged on half a season and may have met his target. So the same applies to Hamilton being 3rd? Is only half a season? 

I'd have Neil over Holt anyway, but it would be fair to point out that 7 months ago Neil and Holt would have been held in the same esteem having performed to a similar standard with similar sized clubs in the same league. Six months later Neil will be Holt's boss. That would be a little like Paul Lambert becoming the assistant to Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool in the summer of 2012! 

Gary Holt won't mind if he gets to manage his beloved Kilmarnock though, he'll get another job in Scotland. We can hardly be blamed for him aiming too low anyway, and I'm not really sure why he wouldn't have wanted to be in a league with Hibs, Hearts and Rangers this season. Unless that's the point, he knew he wouldn't have been able to win promotion this season at Falkirk. 

I didn't say Holt has underperformed, I said Neil has had actual tangible success and has took a team a lot higher than Holt has.

And no I didn't, we weren't talking about how teams were performing, we were specifically talking about meeting targets, something clearly very different. I agreed Neil was slightly underperforming, I said that didn't mean he had failed as we don't know whether he would have met his target. Hamilton are very clearly overperforming at this moment in time and whether they finish 3rd or not will presumably comfortably avoid relegation based on the table, which was presumably the target for a club of their size. But yes, fine margins, as I pointed out by comparing Adams record to Lamberts.

7 months is a long time in Football, Neil now has 7 months experience of very successfully managing a team at a higher level than Holt. But I wouldn't expect Holt to hang around, as I said previously, I fully believe the rumours he will return to management as he said he only came for Adams.

 

[Killiecanary]

I don't think there's the slightest chance of Holt heading back to Killie - that would be far too popular for the useless to$$er we have for a chairman to contemplate.

I also don't think he would take the job with aforementioned mammary there as club chairman - he is a Killie fan and knows the score. The fans 'not a penny more' campaign at Killie means there is even less money than before at Rugby Park (affectionately known to us as TheTheatre of Pies) and I honestly can't see him going there unless there is a serious change in the ownership structure there.

That said I would love to see him there!

 

[Yellow Fever]

Did Gary Holt achieve good success? He didn't win promotion and being 3rd in the Scottish Championship with a small club is hardly the same as being 3rd in the SPL and beating Celtic on your way. 

Holt has done well so far but it's hardly the same level of proven success. He was also pretty vocal he only came for Adams (probably giving credence to the rumours he will be returning to management) so he had an affinity with both manager and club. Neil has no such ties to Norwich or Phelan and thats who we were talking about.

Holt had a win % of 48.08%, which is the highest ever for Falkirk since it's inception in 1905, so I'd call it 'good success' in his maiden year.

 

[Accie Gav]

Totally agree with diogg.

Alex had us playing great football and scoring lots of goals. Easily the best Accies team I have seen and I am 46.

There is no way he will play for you. Simply not good enough at that level.

Dont worry about Bassong being too arrogant. Alex is hard as nails and will take no nonsense off anyone. I would be surprised if any Accies players follow. Andreu is our top man and may join but cant see anyone else following.

 

[Monty13]

Holt had a win % of 48.08%, which is the highest ever for Falkirk since it's inception in 1905, so I'd call it 'good success' in his maiden year.

Yes I actually agree! Many people wouldn't though, they wouldn't consider that level of success without any promotion or success at a higher level not enough.

If you have proved yourself as a manager, you've had good success in your brief career and your thought of as up and coming, why would you reduce yourself to assistant to someone who has never managed? Especially when its not for a PL team.

That was my original question, if we are talking about Gary Holt we know the answer, he told us, he came for Adams. It's all academic it seems now but what possible reason would Neil have had to do the same?

 

[Yellow Fever]

Yes I actually agree! Many people wouldn't though, they wouldn't consider that level of success without any promotion or success at a higher level not enough.

That's fair enough Monty, but Neil and Holt were only separated by the play-off semi in the Scottish Championship. Had Falkirk happened to win that semi, the whole story might have been very different. I'm not trying to take anything away from Neil, whose half season in the SPL has been exceptional. I like his potential appointment, but I also like the fact that both Phelan and Holt will be staying on to help his transition into Championship management

 

[Canaryboy]

Anybody else finding it annoying that our new managers surname is the same as our last managers first name? 

 

[Fenway Frank]

I'm Waiting for someone to call him Neil Alex.

 

[diogg]

This was written in Oct/Nov last year:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/05/sports/soccer/scottish-club-hamilton-academical-combines-soccer-and-sobriety.html?_r=0

Sorry if you have already seen it - it's floating around on Twitter.  

 

[Din]

Anybody else finding it annoying that our new managers surname is the same as our last managers first name? 

It is pretty annoying tbf.

Quite frankly I'm very disappointed with the board they haven't taken that into consideration.

 

 

[Monty13]

That's fair enough Monty, but Neil and Holt were only separated by the play-off semi in the Scottish Championship. Had Falkirk happened to win that semi, the whole story might have been very different. I'm not trying to take anything away from Neil, whose half season in the SPL has been exceptional. I like his potential appointment, but I also like the fact that both Phelan and Holt will be staying on to help his transition into Championship management

Yes, but as pointed out with Adams v Lambert, its fine margins in football. A couple more wins and Gary Holt got a team promoted and almost certainly wouldn't have come here to play second fiddle you'd imagine. A couple more wins than losses and Neil Adams would have been ahead of Lambert on points at the same stage and, more than likely, would have kept his job.

 

[Canaryboy]

Quite frankly I'm very disappointed with the board they haven't taken that into consideration.

They should have got the old Neil to change his name by deed poll as part of the severance package. We could call him Neyuuul, but then again the Canary Call regulars are going to call them both Neyuuul. At least this new Neil's first name isn't Adam, imagine that..... 

 

[It's Character Forming]

Maybe it should be a requirement he changes his name by deed poll to get the job lol

Seriously I like the sound of his comments about wanting control. It's what we need

The main question for me is whether his approach to dealing with players will translate toNorwich. Basically when players are paid a certain level it's harder to motivate them with the fear they'll be got rid of - there's been mention of people on say £2k per week at Hamilton which isn't enough to be able to walk away if you don't like it (which in some ways is what Bassong has done it seems to me).

 

[Gaffer]

He could turn us down. The board have this ridiculous structure where our manager doesn't have the same powers as other managers, which was probably why Malky (and Lennon?) turned us down. Will they U-turn or screw up again?

 

[Yellow Fever]

IMO, the 'stucture' avoids any need for a DoF or anything similar. It allows him to clarify what he is doing and what he wants to the key parties involved who will then make it happen. There has never been any suggestion that any City manager isn't in control of what players come and go, so that shouldn't be a problem.